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Local officials see Staten Island blind spot in de Blasio's 2015 State of the City

Updated on February 4, 2015 at 11:04 AMPosted on February 3, 2015 at 8:45 PM

Bill de Blasio

New York Mayor Bill Bill de Blasio delivers his State of the City address at Baruch College, in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015. He detailed his ambitious plans to build and preserve affordable housing throughout New York City.
(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

"Staten Island is a borough that has a very high percentage of home ownership," Borough President James Oddo, a Republican, said after de Blasio's second State of the City address. "So when the speech is dedicated mostly to rental affordability, it's not going to speak to the main concerns and priorities of a community that's backbone is home ownership."

The mayor detailed new efforts to increase the affordable housing stock, framed as a solution to widening inequalities across the city.

Minority Leader Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore) said in a statement that he was pleased by some of the new housing initiatives -- like programs to end veteran homelessness -- and efforts to cut through regulatory hurdles.

"But I think the speech missed the mark by failing to address the concerns many middle class New Yorkers have today -- such as how his administration can improve the delivery of core city services and make this city more affordable for all of us," Ignizio said.

Oddo said his office approached the de Blasio administration about the area several weeks ago. The idea is that new zoning and development will leverage some $1 billion and public and private investment already underway on the North Shore, further stimulating the area's renaissance.

"This is a way of improving a community that's been knocked down to its knees for decades," Oddo said, praising the zoning proposal. He said criticism of the affordable housing requirements was more about politics.

"Put aside selfish, self-serving, inaccurate rhetoric that we've heard in the last campaign cycles, go to the facts and this would be a boon to the Stapleton and St. George communities," he said.

Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore) agreed the Bay Street rezoning effort would be good for her district, particularly given other development projects in the area. But Ms. Rose said the city should be careful to ensure any residential development comes with the necessary infrastructure, like schools and transit.

"I'm very concerned about maintaining the context of any new buildings, making sure development is built to fit a neighborhood as opposed to just any kind of building," Ms. Rose added. "I want to maintain the character of our downtown areas well as our Stapleton community."

FERRY FRUSTRATION

Much of the 2015 agenda outlined in de Blasio's speech focuses on affordable housing. But it was de Blasio's transit plans that drew the ire of borough officials on Tuesday.

"As soon as he said mass transit, I looked up hoping to hear how we're going to increase ferry service here," Matteo said. "I'm not trying to take anything away from Stapleton and their options, but many south and east shore residents need ferry service, too."

In his speech, de Blasio pegged the new ferry system as a way to help "certain neighborhoods" that are "doomed to isolation because of their geography."

"All the language the mayor used to describe this inequality fits all parts of Staten Island, including the South Shore," Oddo said.

Ignizio said he was "surprised" that the mayor seemed to exclude most Staten Islanders when discussing long commutes and limited mass transit options.

"He didn't provide a solution for my constituents -- who face the longest commutes in the country and have been fighting for options for decades," he said. "City services and improvements need to reach every constituency in this city, in all five boroughs."

Even Ms. Rose seemed perplexed that Stapleton was being considered for the five-borough ferry service -- and new additional boats could benefit her constituents. She was hoping Matteo and Ignizio's Mid Island and South Shore districts would get a ferry.

"They need that type of access more so than we do because we have a free ferry already," she said.

The city will also develop and implement 13 more bus rapid transit routes through 2017. The first wave of expansion will include four routes in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, though Staten Island lines could be studied in the future.